[bootss]

Not for me, price is too close to a new paint job

[RamAir02]

Originally Posted by edragta

I’m curious to know how many of you have installed PPF in your cars and why?

I’m considering wrapping the front and sides of my car when it arrives to prevent damage from people keying the paint. I live in a high risk/metropolitan area and will park outside. Planning in moving in less than a year but for now that’s what I have to do

Looking to see some real experiences and do you think it was worth installing?

What parts of the car did you cover?

Price would be nice to know as reference.

Thank you all!

Price: $2600 for Paint Correction + PPF
Areas: Similar to 2SS Capt
PPF: Suntek Ultra
Worth it? Yes. Took the car fresh from the dealer, no PDI. Main reason is to avoid rock chips. Honestly, I wish I did the PPF a bit higher up on the doors -- I got a small rock chip last year millimeters above the lower door crease. My PPF ends at that lower door crease.
Notes: PPF will likely not prevent someone keying your car. I wouldn't pay for Ceramic Coating -- it's easy enough to apply yourself. However, I was not willing to tackle the PPF installation on my own.

[dpevans]

It depends on what you want. Are you only keeping the car for maybe 4 years or less then I would not spend the money. Do you plan on keeping the car for an extended period of time then to me it's worth the money. You really have to shop around and you have to check references and how do they apply. Are they doing a one piece or in several pieces. A one piece they should tuck the edges, several pieces you will see the edges. If you're putting it on a brand new car then the paint correction should be minimal cost but a car several years old will take a 3 step correction. I have it on front bumper and rocker panels and it has held up well for over 6 years. I personally don't think hood and front fenders are worth the cost, in 6 years of city, track, and highway driving I have one small chip on the hood and none on the front fenders.

[Chutzpah]

There’s no right or wrong answer here… it’s all personal preference.

For PPF - You keep your cars a long time, are finicky about chips /scratches / swirls and prefer less overall maintenance.

Against PPF- you won’t lose any sleep over some imperfections, don’t keep cars all that long and are simply cost conscious.

I fall in the middle - by doing some PPF myself, accepting that my work will be better than nothing / but much cheaper than a pro, while knowing I run through my cars pretty often.

I personally wouldn’t pay big $ for a pro to ceramic coat or PPF, unless it was a real keeper.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by edragta

1 I’m curious to know how many of you have installed PPF in your cars and why?
2 Looking to see some real experiences and do you think it was worth installing?
3 What parts of the car did you cover?
4 Price would be nice to know as reference.

1 Suntek Ultra Self-healing PPF installed 2017
2 Paint is still perfect, film is still perfect. Totally worth it.
3 Full Front, emblems removed, hood extractor removed, mirrors, rockers and doors up to the body line, behind rear wheels, windshield frame in one piece. All patterns were oversized, tucked and edges wrapped for no seams.
4 $5k including full car paint correction, full car ceramic and hydrophobic, plus same on wheels and grille.

Would do again.

[jp6]

I did it for several reasons:
* Would rather pay money now and have immaculate paint for the life of the PPF, rather than drive around with holes in my paint and get a respray later.
* Ease of cleaning. I can pressure wash, use a mitt, use a microfiber with Optimum No Rinse or whatever and not worry about being perfect. If I pick up a lot of dirt from driving in the rain I have zero stress.
* If you have the ground effects or front lip, that's a plastic piece people probably won't pay to have resprayed evenly. I have PPF, I scraped it on a curb, and all I had to do was get it re-wrapped. No deep gouges (in the lip itself), no unsightly leftover marks, etc.
* This is a car I will keep forever

[jp6]

1. Xpel, installed April 2022
2. yep, see last post
3. Full front clip and lower sides, like other ppl in this thread have posted pictures
4. a little over 2k for just the PPF. No paint correction done, no add'l ceramic etc. Now I just use 2 bucket or ONR plus opti seal.

[Okie Noggin]

3 years and 20,000 miles with PPF and no front end chips. My other cars are paint perfect except for a ton of front end stone chips. Repainting would be frustrating because the chipping would start all over again. The PPF holds up really well but it is important to wash the bugs off so the acids do not stain the PPF or paint for that matter.

[m6-lt1]

Originally Posted by bootss

Not for me, price is too close to a new paint job

Please tell me where you are finding full repaint prices for less than 5k.

[Mark R]

I had the entire car paint corrected, then full Suntek PPF and ceramic coat. The car still looks perfect. The only guy in Albuquerque with the skill set to do it all charged me $7K. I'm still happy with my decision. I plan to never sell my car.

[Wyzz Kydd]

The price of PPF relative to the long term value of the car led me to decide PPF wasn't for me.

[PhotoGuy]

Everyone has their opinion of whats important to them I keep my Cars and trucks 14 plus years ..... I like having a nice clean looking vehicle be it a truck or car When i bought my truck new i didnt want to spend the money to wrap the front and hood now after 5 years it looks like the front got shot with a shot gun all ther chips there are had to get them all taken care of ... when i ordered my 2020 2SS camaro it went from the dealer when it got in straight to the detail shop ... got the whole Car paint corrected then got it all wrapped in XPEL ULTIMATE PLUS PPF then it was Ceramic coated .... when i said the whole car it was ... the front splitter and side skirts also wrapped underneath them not just the top ... also the rear Diffuser, rear wing, mirrors, headlights, door handles .. every part of the car ... total price $5000 plus tax. You put value on whats important to you ... roads here are not perfect roads ... we get gravel hauling trucks on the highways that you get chips from or they drop pebbles that are thown up by other cars your behind .... if people think get the chips fixed have not had quality bodywork or paint jobs ... like to see a full repaint on a camaro front end with sanding body work to fill the chips primer a couple coats of paint then a couple coats of clear under $1500 or $2000 then get it done again after you get more or a chip on the door or rear quarter and more as the years go by ..... PPF is for people that are Meticulous about their vehicle .. if you dont mind stone chips on your Camaro dont get PPF ... treat it just like any other car on the road and drive it ..... If you want PPF get the front end,splitter, hood,front fender if you want to go farther get the door and rear quarter panel and side skirt if you have ... those are your 2 steps you can take to care for your car

[BundiMan]

I had the entire car paint corrected and EXPL PPF for just over $5k. I think its worth it. When I am cleaning the car I don't have to worry as much about scratching the paint if the sponge has residue dirt left in it or if I am doing spot cleaning at the car meet. The only down side I have found is that my car has a lot of static charge to it so it attract more dust. Not sure if that's because I add ceramic coating on top of the PPF or not

[bootss]

Originally Posted by m6-lt1

Please tell me where you are finding full repaint prices for less than 5k.

I didn't say less, I said close. After PPF, Ceramic, paint correction. you're into the 5-8K range. PPF has a lifespan, if not removed and replaced within that lifespan, it can lift paint when you remove it. A full quality paint job is going to be about 9k if you don't make an insurance claim for the work. And that paintjob will be better than factory paint.

I'd rather roll the dice and keep the touch up paint and compound on hand if I ever need to fill a chip. Mine might be a garage and trailer queen, but it's not a show car. If I ever decide to sell and the guy breaks my balls over paint chips (Which there are none as of now knock on wood) then he can take a walk, the car is too sweet and I tend to price things fairly.

Different stroke for different folks. I'm not bashing PPF, it's a cool product but it's just not for me. I'd rather put 5k under the hood.